This invention relates to a method for drilling and injecting preservative, suitable for use with railway ties to provide improved resistance to deterioration.
In the known processes for handling railway ties the preservation and drilling steps are usually separate. Specifically, a tie which has been previously treated by spraying, painting or dipping in creosote or other preservative is subsequently drilled to receive a spike for locating a rail tie plate. This drilling step exposes the interior core of the tie to the ingress of water, which undermines the effectiveness of the outer preserving skin of creosote or other preservative which has previously been applied and such ingress of water results in deterioration of the tie. It is difficult to apply creosote or other preservative manually or otherwise to the drilled hole in the tie and in any event such a step would seriously impede the rate of track laying.